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Meet Our Artisans

Each season we feature artisans from around the world whose products are in showcased in our current collection. Discover how these talented artisans make their sustainable, unique products by hand, along with the challenges they face, and the non-profit groups who help support their craftwork.

Featured Video - Indigo Handloom

From small beginnings come great things

The twelve artisan groups featured each season have been introduced to us by fair trade wholesalers, nonprofit organizations and consultants who work directly with the craftspeople. We strive to represent artisans from different parts of the world. Our products are chosen for their quality and value with an eye for both contemporary and classic style.

By supporting these organizations and buying their fairly traded products, we are helping these artisans earn a living wage, send their children to schools, and afford daily necessities that we often take for granted. We hope you love our collection as much as we do and will share 12 Small Things with your family and friends.

If you’re in San Francisco, please visit our showroom and store at 513 Cortland Avenue in Bernal Heights, Thursday through Sunday from 11:00 am - 6:00 pm, or by appointment (contact: laurie@12smallthings.com, 415-829-8292).

My family and I had the pleasure of vacationing in Europe this summer, for a week in Siena with friends, and a few days in Paris and London with family. The sun was warm with clear skies, the landscape and villages were beautiful and clean, the people welcoming and generous. Football was played with a soccer ball, the players were cute and lean and no one was tackled, although some grimaced for effect. Public transportation was efficient and modern, and cars were small and fast. We lingered over delicious, long lunches with beer and wine. I could get used to this.

This January, instead of exhibiting at trade shows representing international artisans for 12 Small Things, I volunteered to help Aid to Artisans with their first entry at the Las Vegas Market home and gift show. I knew the drill and tricks of setting up and breaking down in the temporary Pavilions exhibition hall, having done it for the past three seasons and winning the best booth award from the juried show twice. But having just turned 60 last December, I gave myself the birthday present of a break from trade show set-ups, at least for now!

Let’s face it, retail has changed significantly since the election of Donald Trump last year, along with the growing preference by the consumer for online shopping. Are we scared to go out, or do we just like the comforts of home better than our local shops? In New York last month, I overheard twenty something’s on their commute home, ordering groceries from their phones, rather than stopping by the store.